Module 3: with Facebook Ads
Learning Objectives Skills Aquired Challenge Students will learn to create Facebook Ads using Ads Manager Understand the basic process needed to create an ad Understand how to determine an objective for an ad campaign Understand how to use Ads Manager to target ads to specific audiences Understand how to set a budget and schedule for an ad campaign Understand how to use Ads Manager to create various types of ads (image, video, slideshow, carousel, etc.) Understand how to use Ads Manager to monitor and measure the performance of an ad campaign Determine the right ad objective for a business s goals Use tools to target specific audiences for an ad campaign Set a specific budget and schedule for an ad campaign Produce ads of different types (images, videos, slideshow, carousel, etc.) Use tools to monitor, measure, and edit an ad campaign to meet the campaign goals 6-8 hour class duration Create a simple ad campaign for your organization that is in line with their specific business goal(s). For example, this could be creating awareness through an event, generating leads for new members, selling a product or service, or boosting loyalty to the organization. 3 sessions plus out-of-class homework 2
The rise of social media has had a dramatic effect on how people communicate with friends and how news is spread, but possibly no industry has seen more change than than the advertising world. Remember Nielsen ratings? That s where data is gathered on the viewing habits of one or two million people in order to understand what they are watching on TV, and it s used to determine the cost of television commercials. It used to be best way to estimate what an audience would do. Today, that data is much more comprehensive and much more specific. The more you know how to appeal to specific demographics and how to measure your ad s effectiveness, the better prepared you will be as a social media marketer. Even if your organization is nonprofit, advertising is an excellent outreach tool. In this module, you will work with your organization to create and run at least two ad campaigns. Because the process can be a little complicated, we ll take you through it step by step in the following six lessons: WhyAds? Organic vs paid ads The Basics Overall process Choose Audience Target specific audiences Ad Placement When and where your ads are shown Budget and Schedule Determine a good budget Create Your Ad Create beautiful, compelling ads Manage and Measure Your Ads Ad performance Remember, this is the fun part! This is the chance to get creative and learn how to create compelling ads that help your organization add members, sell products or services, have a successful event, or whatever business goal you have! 3
Module 3: Lesson 1 Why Ads?
Why should I buy ads on Facebook? Resources https://moz.com/ blog/1-dollar-per-day-onfacebook-ads 1 Advertising on Facebook is relatively inexpensive as compared to other channels. This graph from Brian Carter s Moz article really says it all. In terms of cost to reach a thousand people, Facebook is far less expensive than all other channels (online and offline): Cost to reach 1000 people Newspaper $32.00 Magazine $20.00 Radio $8.00 Cable TV $7.00 Google AdWords $2.75 LinkedIn Ads $0.75 Facebook Ads $0.25 Module 3 Lesson 1: Why Ads? 5
Why should I buy ads on Facebook? 2 Facebook s tools for targeting specific audiences are excellent. Along with tons of different ad types, like video ads, the level of detail you can get with Facebook targeting capabilities is vast. Whether it be by demographics, connections, age ranges, languages, or locations, you can dig pretty deep with these targeting capabilities. Module 3 Lesson 1: Why Ads? 6
Why should I buy ads on Facebook? 3 Facebook s tools for measuring and reporting ads are excellent. With Facebook advertising you can clearly see what you have spent and what results it has provided. You can report on a range of performance metrics including the number of times your ad was shown, the number of clicks on your ad, and the cost per click you received. Module 3 Lesson 1: Why Ads? 7
What are best practices related to advertising on Facebook? There are 3 key things to remember when thinking about advertising on Facebook: 1 Be clear about your business goals before you start. Know the purpose of your Facebook Ad before you decide on a budget. Understand whether the aim is to increase for brand awareness, conversions, video views, etc. Each action made by your audience on your Facebook ad costs money, so make sure you are clear about your goals before spending the money. 2 3 Target your audience specifically. Take the time to narrow your audience targeting to make sure your ad will appear where the people you want to see it will be. Rotate your ads regularly. To avoid ad fatigue, rotate your Facebook ads regularly. Ad fatigue is when people see your ad too many times, so they can get bored and stop clicking. And, when people stop clicking, running an ad can get expensive. Module 3 Lesson 1: Why Ads? 8
Module 3: Lesson 2 The Basics
What do I need to start creating an ad? Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/learn/ facebook-ads-basics You will create your ads using Ads Manager, which is easy to use. There are five things you ll need to have thought about before you start creating your ad: Your ad objective Your target audience Where you want to place your ad Your budget and when you d like your ad to appear Your content for the ad Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 10
How do I figure out my ad objective? Resources https://www. facebook.com/ We ve talked before about your organization s goals for marketing on Facebook are you looking to create awareness, pique interest, or get customers? How will this ad help with those goals? It is important that you choose the right objective because your setting in Ads Manager drives all of the other choices you will make as you create your ad. Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 11
How do I figure out my ad objective? Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/ Here is what your choices will look like: Brand Awareness: Increase awareness for your brand by reaching people who are more likely to be interested in it. Reach: Show your ad to the maximum number of people. Traffic: Send more people to a destination on or off Facebook. Engagement: Get more people to see and engage with your post or page. Engagement can include comments, shares, likes, event responses, and offer claims. You can chose post, page, or event responses. App Installs: Get more people to install your app. Video Views: Get more people to view your video content. Messages: Get more people to have conversations with your business in Messenger to complete purchases, answer questions, or offer support. Lead Generation: Drive more sales leads, such as email addresses, from people interested in your brand or business. Conversions: Drive valuable actions on your website or app. Catalog Sales: Create ads that automatically show products from your product catalog based on your target audience. Store Visits: Get more people nearby to visit your brick-andmortar locations. Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 12
What do I need to know about my audience? How do I target specific groups? Facebook has great tools for helping you target your ads to people who are most likely to view your ads and take action. Depending on the ad objective, you will be guided through selecting ways to target your ads. But it s worth thinking ahead about a few things before you get started: Age: Is there an age range of people you want to target? Gender: Are you interested in targeting men, women, or both? Location: Do you want to reach folks in your community or in other parts of the city, state, or country? Demographics: Will you target people by education level, income, or other information? You ll learn more about this in later lessons. Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 13
What kind of budget do I need? You ll want to think about how much of a budget your organization has for advertising on Facebook. If you are new to Facebook ads, it s a good idea to keep your budget low and consider testing different things. Fortunately, you can do this with a pretty small budget sometimes as low as $15. When you set a budget, it s important to remember that this figure represents the maximum amount of money you want to spend. You can also set your budget to Daily or Lifetime: Daily: A daily budget is the average that you ll spend every day. Lifetime: A lifetime budget is the maximum that you ll spend during the lifetime of this advertising campaign. You ll learn more about this in later lessons. Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 14
What ad formats are available? You ll also want to think about what your ad will look like before you get started with the process of creating it. There are a variety of ad formats you can use: Image Use beautiful images to convey your message. Video Tell your story with sight, sound, and motion. Carousel Show multiple images or videos in a single ad. Slideshow Create lightweight video ads to connect with people across connection speeds. Collection Tell a story with a single ad that showcases what you are offering. Canvas Build a custom, fast-loading mobile advertising experience to tell your story beautifully. Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 15
How will I manage and measure my ads? Managing and measuring your ads is an important part of what you ll need to do and Facebook has great tools to help you do that. You ll learn more about Ads Manager and the Ads Manager App later in this lesson. Ads Manager and Business Manager are more advanced tools and won t be covered in this workshop. Facebook Ads Manager Quickly create, edit, and manage Facebook ads, all in one place. This is the tool that works for most people and that you ll learn about a little later. Facebook Ads Manager App Monitor and control your ads from anywhere using your smartphone or tablet. We ll also give you an introduction to this tool a little later. Facebook Business Manager Allows businesses to securely share and control access to their advertising accounts, Pages, and more. This is an advanced tool and we won t cover it in this module. Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 16
Activity: Campaign Objectives Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ teach-for-america The ad objective drives your entire campaign on Facebook. As such, it s important to think about your organization s business goals. Let s consider some examples. Example 1: Ad for Teach for America Discussion Question: What do you think the ad objective was for this ad? Conversions Store Visits Brand Awareness Traffic Answer: The ad objective was Brand Awareness. The idea was to tell the general public about this organization and what they do. Additional Questions: What does the Learn More button tell you about this ad and the business goal? What elements of the ad are compelling and make you want to learn more? How might you use a Learn More button with your organization? Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 17
Activity: Campaign Objectives Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ toms https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ quaker-canada Example 2: Ad for Toms Shoes Discussion Question: What do you think the ad objective was for this ad? Conversions Store Visits Brand Awareness Traffic Answer: This ad objective was Brand Awareness. The idea was to have people be inspired by the mission of the company. Additional Questions: What about the video ad is compelling? Why would this ad work for raising brand awareness? What do you learn about their ad? What function does the slogan We live for one, another have in the ad? How might you use some of these elements in your ads? Example 3: Ad for Quaker Canada Discussion Question: What ad objective do you think was chosen for this example? Conversions Reach Brand Awareness Traffic Answer: The ad objective was Brand Awareness. Quaker wanted to bring awareness to their #StopCOMPAREnting campaign and created video ads to draw parents into the campaign. Additional Questions: How does the 360-degree photo help tell a story about parenting? How does the question posed on the ad help draw people in? In what way does this ad help build brand awareness? How might you use stories to build your organization s brand awareness? Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 18
Activity: Campaign Objectives Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ canadian-diabetesassociation Example 4: Ad for the Canadian Diabetes Association Discussion Questions: What do you think was the ad objective for this example? Conversions Reach Brand Awareness Traffic Answer: The ad objective was Reach. The hope was to reach as many people as possible to share the twominute test. Additional Questions: How did using a diabetes risk test help engage and reach a lot of people? Would you take it? Why? How can a little education help engage people? Are there ways you can find to help educate people about your organization? Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 19
Mini Challenge: Decide on Your Ad Objective As we said at the beginning of this lesson, choosing the right ad objective is key. The first thing you ll be asked to do when you create your ad is to pick an objective. So in this mini-challenge, you ll need to determine the objective of your first ad. Look again at the description of each objective. Consider each one, talk with others in your organization, and decide on the objective for your first ad. Write it down. You ll need it later when you begin to create your ad. Discussion Questions What does conversion mean in terms of my organization s needs? What is the ultimate action they want people to take? Who is already aware of my organization s brand? Who might benefit by knowing more about my organization? Do people know about my organization and what we do? How can I create an ad that helps build that awareness? Can I drive traffic to somewhere specific like the website or an event page? Module 3 Lesson 2: The Basics 20
Module 3: Lesson 3 Choose Audience
Who is my audience and how do I find them? Your people are here! More than a billion people use Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network every day. With powerful audience selection tools, you can target the people who are right for your business. Using what you know about your customers, such as demographics and interests, you can connect with people similar to them. There are three options for choosing your audience on Facebook: Core Audiences Select your audience manually based on characteristics, such as age and location. Custom Audiences Upload your customer list to connect with your customers on Facebook. Lookalike Audiences Use your customer information to find people similar to them on Facebook. Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 22
How do I reach people in my core audience? Whether you re a flower shop that wants more local customers or an online electronics retailer looking for people interested in your products, you can target people based on their demographics, location, interests, and behaviors. Facebook Ads Manager lets you do this in specific ways. Location Reach people in areas where you want to do business. You might want to target only people in our local community. You can do that. You might want to offer your services to people all over your state or all over the country. You can do that. You can even create a radius around a store to help create more walk-ins. Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 23
How do I create a Core Audience? Age and Gender Consider the age range of the people you are advertising to. Are you targeting older men who need auto repair services? Are you focusing on women in their 40s who would be interested in joining your group? Think about the age range and gender of the people who are most likely to engage with you and choose that range. Language Are you targeting Chinese speakers for your organization? You can you do that too! Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 24
How do I create a Core Audience? Detailed Targeting A really interesting feature of Facebook is the ability to target groups by demographics (education, relationship status, etc.) interests, behaviors, and more. Here s where it really gets powerful. If you want to tell parents about your daycare, you can target only parents. If you want folks interested in biking to see ads for your bike repair shop, you can do that! Take some time to explore this feature it ll help you really target your specific audience. Connections Connections allow you to choose people who have liked your Page(s) and posts, used your app, or gone to your event. This feature is a good way to reconnect with people who have been with you before. Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 25
What is a Custom Audience? Custom Audiences help you find your existing customers and contacts on Facebook. Connecting with people on Facebook who already know about your business can help you build relationships and drive sales. Using Ads Manager, you can build lists of people who have visited your website, used your app, or engaged with your posts before. If your organization has email or other member lists, this can be a powerful way of reaching those people directly! In general, however, this may be a feature to be used once you ve built up your online community. Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 26
What is a Lookalike Audience? Once your Page has been active for a while, you may want to build your audience based on people who are similar to your customers. Lookalike Audiences helps you find people on Facebook who are similar to your existing customers or contacts. It s a powerful tool that uses the insights you ve gained from your Facebook marketing and increases your chances of reaching people who might be interested in your business. Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 27
Activity: Target Audiences Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ major-league-soccer To take full advantage of Facebook s targeting options, you ll want to spend time thinking about the demographics, interests, and behaviors of your potential audience. Here are examples from four organization. Example 1: Ad from Major League Soccer Discussion Question: What can you tell about the demographics, location, interests, and behaviors that were considered when this ad was created? Answer: Goal: Raise brand awareness Gender: Men and Women Language: English and Spanish Speakers Interests: Soccer, Fans of specific MLS teams Demographics: Parents of kids who play soccer Additional Questions: What elements of the ad were tailored to their target audience? Why is language an important element in this case? What does MLS understand about their US audience? What other demographics, interests, or behaviors might you add here? Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 28
Activity: Target Audiences Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ sarasota-ford#u_0_h Example 2: Ad from Sarasota Ford Discussion Question: What can you tell about the demographics, location, interests, and behaviors that were considered when this ad was created? Answer: Goal: Increase sales of services and cars using specific promotions Gender: Ad 1 - Men and Women, Ad 2 - Women Age: Ad 1-30+, Ad 2-30+ Location: Living near dealership Interests: Ad 1 - veterans related groups like Veteran of America, Ad 2 - cars, specifically Fords Demographics: Ad 1 - Veterans, Ad 2 - Car owners Behaviors: Likely to purchase a new or used car Additional Questions: What role did location have in this ad? Why choose folks living near the dealership? Why do you think they picked Veterans and women to target? Do you think that targeting people who were likely to purchase a car is limiting or do you think it was a good choice? Are there any similarities between your target audience and this target audience? Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 29
Activity: Target Audiences Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ sheetz Example 3: Ad from Sheetz Discussion Question: What can you tell about the demographics, location, interests, and behaviors that were considered when this ad was created? Answer: Goals: Increase store visits, increase sales of food and beverages Gender: Men and women Age: 25-44 Location: Living near stores Interests: Fast food, fast casual restaurants Custom Audience: targeted audience who liked their Page Additional Questions: How does the target audience of Sheetz match its goals? What other interests might have been targeted? How does location play a role and why? Is there something in these ads that helps you think about your organization? Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 30
Activity: Target Audiences Resources https://nonprofits.fb.com/ story/cmrf-crumlin/ Example 4: Ad from CMRF Discussion Question: What can you tell about the demographics, location, interests, and behaviors that were considered when this ad was created? Answer: Goal: Fundraising Gender: 83% Women Age: 25-45 Custom Audience: Mothers who had been treated successfully in Crumlin Additional Questions: Why might a Custom Audience be a good idea for this ad? What about this ad is compelling to the CMRF s target audience? Are there any ideas in this ad that you can apply to your organization? Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 31
Mini Challenge: Think About Your Target Audience Using the ad objective you chose earlier, use this form to think about each of the ways you can target your audience. Don t worry if it s not too targeted at first, you can change and refine your settings as you run your ad. Keep the form for later. You ll want to refer to it when you are creating your ad. location age: gender: language: Discussion Questions: What have you noticed about the age and gender of most of the people involved in your organization? What type of person would be very unlikely to join your organization? Even if your organization wants all types of people, what type of person is most interested? What would a young person say was great about your organization? What would an older person say is great about it? Are those different things? demographic: interests: behaviors: Module 3 Lesson 3: Choose Audience 32
Module 3: Lesson 4 Ad Placement
How do I get the widest reach for my ad? With a few clicks, you can run ads across Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network. The ad placement options (the places where you can run ads) let you grow your reach with precision. More Places You will be able to reach people on their favorite apps and websites with ads across Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network. Across Devices You can show your ads on whichever device your audience happens to be using, with ad placement options for mobile or desktop. Running ads across platforms and devices is easy. Just build your ad once, then select Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network under Placements. No resizing or reformatting required. Module 3 Lesson 4: Ad Placement 34
How do ad placements work? Through Ads Manager, you can choose to run your ads across the Facebook family of apps and services. This gives the system more flexibility to get your more and better results. The different places your ads are shown are called placements. The available placements are: Facebook Feeds Instant Articles In-Stream Videos Right Column Suggested Videos Marketplace Instagram Feed Stories Audience Network Native, Banner, and Interstitial In-Stream Videos Rewarded Videos Messenger Home Sponsored Messages There are two approaches to using placements: automatic and manual. Most people will use the automatic placement that allow Facebook to optimize placements across the system. Module 3 Lesson 4: Ad Placement 35
Should I use Automatic Placements or manually choose them myself? Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/ help/965529646866485 https://charlielawrance. com/the-ultimateguide-to-facebook-adplacement/ Facebook recommends using the automatic placements option, which basically tells our system to find the most relevant people and costeffective results available across all of these placements. The ad delivery system is designed to get you the most results at the lowest average cost overall not the lowest average cost for each placement. It will look at placements on Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network, and Messenger and choose the specific placements in each that are the most relevant to your ad objectives, audience selections, and other settings. Taking advantage of every placement is the most efficient use of your budget. You can also choose your placements manually, using the Edit Placements option. Generally, though, doing this involves understanding a lot about your audience and their behaviors and is a more advanced set of skills than we cover in this workshop. Module 3 Lesson 4: Ad Placement 36
Module 3: Lesson 5 Budget and Schedule
How does the auction system work? Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/ help/430291176997542 Facebook uses an auction as a basis for their ads system. The auction can seem complicated, but it is important to have general sense of how it works before you create an ad and set a budget. Overall, when showing ads, Facebook tries to balance two things: 1 2 Help advertisers reach their prospective audiences Make sure Facebook users have a positive experience To do this, they hold an auction that takes both things into account. That way, advertisers are reaching people receptive to their ads and users are seeing something they re interested in. The goal is to match the right ad to the right person at the right time. This is different from a traditional auction because the winner isn t the ad with the highest monetary bid, but the ad that creates the most total value. The ad that wins an auction and gets shown is the one with the highest total value. Total value isn t how much an advertiser is willing to pay to show their ad. It s a combination of 3 major factors: the advertiser bid, the estimated number of clicks or purchases (or other action) the system estimates the ad will generate, and the quality and the relevance of the ad to the person who will see it. An auction takes place whenever a Facebook user is eligible to see an ad. The participants in an auction are ads targeted to an audience the eligible person falls into. Billions of these auctions take place everyday. To learn more about how the auction works, see Resources. Module 3 Lesson 5: Budget and Schedule 38
Should I use a Daily budget or a Lifetime budget? When you buy ads on Facebook, there are two ways to set your budget: Daily Budget Your ad runs until your maximum budget is met each day, for a prespecified number of days. Lifetime Budget Your ad runs continuously until a maximum amount is reached, or the advertising end date arrives. A daily budget gives you the most control, since you know exactly how much you re spending each day. With a lifetime budget, your spend will vary from day to day. Both models can be adjusted or terminated at any time, so as long as you re keeping a close eye, you don t have to worry about unexpected charges. Module 3 Lesson 5: Budget and Schedule 39
How do I set my bid? Once you ve decided on how much you want to spend, the next step is to determine your bid. This is the amount you re willing to pay for deployment of your ad. Facebook will automatically suggest a bid amount based on your industry and audience. This is usually a reliable estimate, so if you don t feel like playing around with bids, you can leave this as is. Module 3 Lesson 5: Budget and Schedule 40
What happens when I increase or lower my bid? One thing to keep in mind is how adjusting your bid amount will affect your ad performance. Don t forget that you are competing with other advertisers who are trying to reach the same audience. The more competition for the ad, the higher the suggested bid. Increasing the bid improves the odds of your ad getting shown. You should think about this if your ad isn t getting shown often enough to reach your daily budget. Lowering the bid decreases the odds, AND it means you re paying less per click. Lowering the bid might be smart if you re reaching your daily budget a lot and want to spread your dollars further. Just be careful bidding too low may drop views of your ad altogether. Module 3 Lesson 5: Budget and Schedule 41
Can I control the schedule and delivery of my ad? There are two things to pay attention to as you think about scheduling your ad: Schedule You can choose to have your ad run continuously. Your ad will be eligible to start running after Facebook reviews and approves it. The review process typically takes up to 24 hours, although in some cases it may take longer. If you ve scheduled your campaign to start immediately, it ll start running once it s been reviewed. You can also schedule your ad to start at a specific date and time for a specific period of time. Delivery There are two pacing options available for ad delivery: lowest cost or target cost. The choice is called Bid Strategy, and it s made in the Budget & Schedule section at the ad set level when creating a Facebook campaign. Lowest cost: This tells Facebook to bid with the goal of getting you the lowest possible cost per optimization event while also spending your entire budget by the end of the day or your ad set s (or campaign s) lifetime (depending on its budget type daily or lifetime). You can also set a bid cap, which tells us the maximum amount we can bid in an auction. Target cost: This tells Facebook to bid with the goal of achieving an average cost per optimization event as close to your cost target as possible. This strategy is only available when using the following objectives: Lead Generation, App Installs, Conversions, or Catalog Sales. Module 3 Lesson 5: Budget and Schedule 42
Mini Challenge: Budget and Schedule Now is the moment to think about what your budget for this first ad will be. You ll want to discuss an amount with your contacts at the organization. Consider starting with something fairly low maybe $15. Also consider whether you want to set a Lifetime Budget or a Daily Budget. Lastly, you ll want to think about the scheduling. For this workshop, it will be best to start the ad run immediately. Write down your budget amount to enter later when you begin to create your ad. budget: Module 3 Lesson 5: Budget and Schedule 43
Module 3: Lesson 6 Create Your Ad
How do I create single-image ads? Whatever your business goals are, a single-image ad on Facebook or Instagram is a great way to increase awareness of who you are and what you do. An image in an ad gives you a clean, simple format to use with an inspiring visual and engaging copy. This basic format is the most popular format especially for organizations that are new to Facebook and are still learning about what works and what doesn t. Creating an image ad is similar to creating a simple Page post with a photo. With Ads Manager, you ll upload a great photo and add engaging text. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 45
How do I create video ads? Over 100 million hours of video are watched every day on Facebook that s more video than you could watch in 11,000 years. The video advertising options on Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network are designed to reflect the way people actually consume video from bite-sized videos they watch on the go, to longer video styles they watch on the couch. You ll want to use video to make a memorable human connection with your viewers. Use it to tell stories, to show how people are using your products or services, to show the impact of your work, and to help people understand who you are as an organization. You can build trust and connections with your audience this way. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 46
How do I create video ads? Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/ Creating a video ad is similar to posting a video to your Facebook Page. Using Ads Manager, you ll upload a video and add engaging text. You can also create a video ad right from your Facebook Page by publishing and boosting a post with an image. To learn more about the best video quality, acceptable formats, and aspect ratios, see Resources. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 47
How do I create carousel ads? The carousel format allows you to showcase up to 10 images or videos within a single ad, each with its own link. With more creative space within an ad, you can highlight different products, showcase specific details about one product, service or promotion, or tell a story about your brand that develops across each carousel card. The ad format can be used by any business to accomplish a variety of advertising objectives. When should you use carousel ads? This format is a good way to start using more complex formats for your ads. If you re selling products, you can use them to show off several of your products at once, or show different views of the same product. If you re promoting an event, you can show several pictures of last year s event. You can tell your company s story or visually explain how you have made a difference for a client. The key advantage to this format is that you can put a call-to-action on each card of the carousel. This means you have the potential to get multiple clicks from one ad! Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 48
How do I create carousel ads? Here are some ways to use the carousel format: Show Multiple Products Give customers more options and encourage them to purchase by showing a different product on each carousel card, with links to different landing pages. Highlight Different Features of a Single Product Use each carousel card to show different product angles or details to better inform customers. Tell a Story Use images or videos in succession to illustrate a compelling narrative. Explain a Process Walk people through how your business works step by step. Creating a carousel ad is easy. You ll select up to 10 images or videos, add text for each, and post them as a set. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 49
How do I create slideshow ads? Slideshow ads give you the power of video, without the time and expense. Facebook slideshow ads are videolike ads that use motion, sound and text to tell your story beautifully across devices and on every connection speed. You can create a slideshow ad in minutes and use it to tell a story that develops over time. You can even create a slideshow ad out of stock images available in Ads Manager or use an existing video. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 50
How do I create slideshow ads? You can think about using slideshow ads instead of video ads if you don t already have a video. You can also think about slideshow ads instead of carousel ads if you have a series of images that string together to tell a good story. Creating a slideshow ad is easy. You ll select up to 10 images or a video and automatically create a slideshow. You can also add text, transitions, and music. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 51
How do I create collection ads? Collection is an ad format that makes it easier for people to discover, browse, and purchase products and services from their mobile device in a visual and immersive way. With collection, people who tap on your ad can browse more products or learn more about the features of a specific product, in a fast-loading, full screen experience, without leaving the Facebook app. A collection ad has a lead video or image, followed by four product images below. If someone taps on the ad, it opens up a broader catalog of up to 50 different products. Then if they tap on a specific product, they ll go to the advertiser s website or app to make the purchase. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 52
How do I create collection ads? Creating a collection ad can be done through Ads Manager. You ll select the photos you want to use and add the URLs on your website that you want each photo to go to. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 53
What is a Canvas and how do I create ads with it? Canvas is a powerful tool that allows you to build custom ads for various purposes. For the purposes of this workshop, we ll describe how it works and when to use it. A more advanced discussion of it is out of the scope of this workshop. Canvas is a fullscreen experience for mobile devices. It can be used with all Facebook ad formats carousel, single image, single video, slideshow, or collection. The easiest and quickest way to build a Canvas is with templates. You can find Canvas templates in Ads Manager or Power Editor. Canvas templates are perfect if you are new to Canvas or have limited time to create your ads. There are three simple templates to choose from. Each template is optimized for a business goal: Sell products Shows features and benefits of your products or services to inspire mobile shopping from your online catalog. Showcase your business Drives awareness of your brand and educates people through Canvas storytelling a powerful way to engage your audience. Get new customers Brings your landing page to Canvas, and highlights the features and benefits. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 54
What should I think about as I design and create my ads? Start With a Goal Start by choosing a goal for your ads, then tailor their style and format around what you hope to achieve. For example, you can increase awareness of your brand by using media that tells a story about the people behind your products. Here, Tio Gazpacho s ad tells a story about why he started the business. Show People Using Your Product Facebook ads often run in someone s News Feed or Instagram feed, right next to posts from their family and friends. To create attention-grabbing ads that feel like a familiar part of someone s social fabric, show images of people benefiting from your product, instead of just the product itself. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 55
What should I think about as I design and create my ads? Less (Text) is More Too much text is distracting and can lead to your ad being shown to fewer people. Images that are uncluttered by text have greater impact. Focus Your Message Crop tightly around the important part of the image. If you re trying to fit too much information into a single piece of media, consider using the Carousel format to show off multiple images within a single ad. If you re running multiple ad sets within a single campaign, be sure all your images have a consistent theme. Use High Resolution Images You don t have to be a professional photographer to create great looking ads. Just be sure to pay attention to the size and quality of the media files you re working with. Find size recommendations for your particular advertising objective in the Facebook Ads Guide. Play Around Be sure to play around with different images and formats before you commit to a particular ad, and always preview how your ad will look in the wild before you run it. You can do all of this over at Creative Hub. You can also create mock-ups, get feedback on your creative, and find inspiration from other advertisers. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 56
What strategies can I use to create good ads? What makes a good ad? Good ads are ads that people interact with. Think about these 4 elements when you are creating your ads: Make it Visual The more visually appealing you make your ad the better. It will be more likely to grab people s attention, be shared, and be remembered. The Facebook algorithms also treat visual content more favorably and will do better when the system is choosing which ads win the auction to be shown to users. No matter what type of ad you create, your image needs to be visually appealing. 1 2 Make it Relevant Find ways to make sure your content and ads match the interests of your audience. Remember, you are spending money when someone views or clicks on your ad (depending on the settings you use). If you re showing ads that aren t relevant to your target audience, you re wasting your time and money and will likely not see success with any kind of advertising. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 57
What strategies can I use to create good ads? Give Them a Value Proposition A value proposition is the reason a user clicks on your ad to learn more about your product. How is your product or service different from any other? Why should the viewer click on your ad? Your value proposition should be believable. For example, saying you have the best massages in the city will not make people come to your business s Page, but maybe offering 20% off will something like, Nashville loves a good massage! Come try ours today and get 20% off your order with this coupon. 3 4 Give It a Clear Call to Action A beautiful and relevant ad is great, but without a call to action (CTA), your viewer might not know what to do next. Add a CTA like Buy now and save X%, or Offer ends soon and add a sense of urgency to your viewer. Your CTA should encourage people to click on your ad now. Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 58
Activity: Creating Good, Effective Ads Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ ever To get your creative juices flowing, look at a few examples of some different ads. Look for ways in which each uses strategies for creating good, creative ads. Example 1: Ad and case study from Ever Discussion Question: What strategies do you think make this a good, effective, creative ad? Answer: It s Visual: This ad uses a carousel of cute photos showing a familiar experience for so many of us! It s Relevant: It was targeted to iphone users, many of whom have had storage and space problems with their phones. It s Valuable: This ad is full of value. Words like Never see this again and Free up space now help viewers understand how the app can help them. It Has a Clear Call to Action: Viewers are invited to download the app for free, and on each photo in the carousel, you re invited to Use the App. Additional Questions: What elements of this ad strike you as effective? What might you change to make it better? Are there strategies here that you can apply to your ads? Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 59
Activity: Creating Good, Effective Ads Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ cupcakin-bake-shop Example 2: Ad and case study from Cupcakin Bake Shop Discussion Question: What strategies do you think make this a good, effective, creative ad? Answer: It s Visual: This ad uses beautiful, close up images of their cupcakes to make them look delicious! It s Relevant: It was targeted at people who lived within 5 miles of the store, making sure that it would be easy for them to come in. After running ads for a bit, they learned that running ads in the late afternoon encouraged people to stop in on their way home from work for a great dessert! It s Valuable: This ad is full of value. Berkeley s Best Cupcakes and the images clearly show what the store offers. Great cupcakes! It Has a Clear Call to Action: Viewers are invited to come try the cupcakes and because they want to encourage visits to their store, they include a get directions button as well. Additional Questions: What elements of this ad strike you as effective? What might you change to make it better? Are there strategies here that you can apply to your ads? Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 60
Activity: Creating Good, Effective Ads Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ cheetos Example 3: Ad and case study from Cheetos Discussion Question: What strategies do you think make this a good, effective, creative ad? Answer: It s Visual: Fun video ad that uses Cheetos iconic mascot, Chester Cheetah, and a team of freestyle soccer stars called Los Cheetahs. They travel to many everyday locations such as a laundromat and a bakery, entertaining customers with a fun and unexpected show. It s Relevant: The ad was targeted at parents and younger soccer fans who also like snacks. It s Valuable: The value in this ad is in the fun attitude it promotes all associated with Cheetos! It Has a Clear Call to Action: Viewers are invited to join the Cheetos Football Club. Additional Questions: What elements of this ad strike you as effective? What might you change to make it better? Are there strategies here that you can apply to your ads? Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 61
Activity: Creating Good, Effective Ads Resources https://www.facebook. com/business/success/ nilla-wafers Example 4: Ad and case study from Nilla Wafers Discussion Question: What strategies do you think make this a good, effective, creative ad? Answer: It s Visual: Great photo ads featuring mouth-watering images of Nilla Wafers used in a variety of recipes, including strawberry shortcake and banana pudding. It s Relevant: The ad was targeted at moms 35-50 years old who liked snacks and were bakers. The objective of the campaign was to remind their target audience that Nilla Wafers are an easy, fun way to make delicious snacks. It s Valuable: The ads provide great ideas for simple, fun recipes to make and share. It Has a Clear Call to Action. Because this was a brand awareness campaign, viewers were invited to like the Nilla Wafer Page to get more recipes and fun. Additional Questions: What elements of this ad strike you as effective? What might you change to make it better? Are there strategies here that you can apply to your ads? Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 62
Mini Challenge: Create Your Ad This mini-challenge has two parts. Part 1 Prepare the creative for your ads. You ll want to prepare 2-3 ads to run in this first campaign. Try to experiment with different ad formats as much as you can. Gather the photos and/or videos (or go take a few if you need to!) you want to use. Write the copy you ll use. Keep it as short and engaging as you can just like you would in a post. Decide on your call to action. You ll want to make sure you are asking your audience to DO something in response to your ad Like your Page, go to your website, sign up for an event, buy something. Part 2 Use Ads Manager to create your first ad campaign. You will use all that you ve prepared in this module to create your first real, running ad. Make sure you have the following things ready before you start: Your ad objective Information you will use to target your audience (demographics, age, location, interests, behaviors) The amount of money you want to spend on the campaign The creative photos, videos, copy for your ad Ready? Let s get started! Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 63
Mini Challenge: Set Goals for Your Ad Before you get started running your ad, it s important to set some goals. Remember, setting goals will help you measure how well you are doing. Think about actions you want people to take with your ad. Do you want them to link to your website, Like your Page, buy something, sign up for an event? Think about the numbers of people you think you d like to take that action. What about the people you want to reach? My Goals: action I want people to take number of those actions: Now have a discussion and write a brief paragraph describing what it is you think makes people engage with some ads but not others. Yes, the simple answer is that some ads are more interesting to certain people, but a lot of ads get ignored because there are so many. What kind of emotion or attitude is going on in a person s head when they choose click on an ad in Facebook? It s okay to keep your goals modest until you learn more about what works and what doesn t with your audience. target audiece: gender location age amount of money to spend: Module 3 Lesson 6: Create Your Ad 64
Module 3: Lesson 7 Manage and Measure Your Ads
What tools do I use to manage and measure my ads? Creating great ads on Facebook is just the beginning. You ll also want to measure the effectiveness, reach, and quality of your ads. Facebook ad management tools give you several ways to do this, based on how many and what kinds of ads you re running. See what s working and what s not, and experiment with different images and headlines to gauge what gets the best reaction. You can also create and manage your ads right from your phone, wherever you happen to be. You ll use the same tools you use to create your ad, to manage your ad Facebook Ads Manager or the Facebook Ads Manager App. Module 3 Lesson 7: Manage and Track Your Ad 66
What tools do I use to manage and measure my ads? Ads Manager Use Ads Manager s powerful features to analyze results and make informed changes to your ads and campaigns. In Ads Manager you can: Quickly duplicate your ads, ad sets, and campaigns. Edit all your ad settings, such as targeting and budget, from one place. See all the metrics that matter to you, right from one consolidated view. Customize your graphs and tables to see the metrics most important to you. Module 3 Lesson 7: Manage and Track Your Ad 67
What tools do I use to manage and measure my ads? Ads Manager App With the Facebook Ads Manager app for ios and Android, you can monitor current ads or create new ones from anywhere. Download the app for free on the App Store or Google Play Store, and: Create ads Edit existing ads Measure ad performance Receive push notifications Module 3 Lesson 7: Manage and Track Your Ad 68
How do I use Ads Manager to measure ad performance? Ads Manager shows you how your advertising is helping you achieve your business goals across Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network. You can analyze your campaign results and learn more about your audience, your product sales, your campaign s reach, and much more. With this data, you can make more informed decisions when building your campaigns and ultimately improve your results. Under the Account Overview tab, you can view a detailed summary of all your advertising activity, learn how your campaigns are performing, and gain insights for future campaigns. First, you can use the charts to understand how your campaigns are performing over time and analyze trends. Hover over the charts to see more information on your campaigns. Module 3 Lesson 7: Manage and Track Your Ad 69
How do I use Ads Manager to measure ad performance? You can customize the metrics you want to see. There are four sections with metrics you can adjust (such as reach, impressions, amount spent, and link clicks). To change the metric you see in a section, click the icon next to the metric name and choose a new metric from the list. You can compare your results between two time periods to understand if your ads performed better in one period over another. Click on the date range drop-down menu. Click Compare and choose the dates that you want to compare. Module 3 Lesson 7: Manage and Track Your Ad 70